Mike Gundy Makes Change at Defensive Line Coach, Randolph In and Richmond Out
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy hasn’t made many staff changes on his own as the head coach going into season No. 20 heading up the Cowboys football program. He has usually been more reactive than proactive when it comes to his coaching staff. Gundy has hired Paul Randolph from Indiana University as the new defensive line coach for the Cowboys. He will replace former Oklahoma State player Greg Richmond, who has been with the program as an assistant coach for the past five years.
Gundy has always preferred the continuity of keeping coaches. However, when he has made changes it has come more often on defense and it fell that way again. Gundy has let go of defensive line coach Greg Richmond. The reason did not come out, although there was some speculation, is that Gundy has slow-played changes to assist the coach leaving in finding something else before the news breaks.
In this case, the news is out because it did not take long for Gundy to find the coach he was looking for to add to his staff.
Randolph just completed his second season as the defensive line coach at Indiana and has over 25-years of experience in coaching. He has 22-years of experience coaching defensive line He came to Bloomington after three seasons as the defensive line coach at Texas Tech University.
Four of Randolph’s pupils garnered All-Big 12 honors in his stint with the Red Raiders. Eli Howard and Broderick Washington Jr. moved on to the NFL in 2021. Washington was a fifth-round selection by Baltimore, while Howard signed with Atlanta. Washington collected all-conference accolades in 2019 and was invited to the NFLPA and Reese’s Senior Bowls. Howard, who finished his career in the program’s Top 10 in sacks, posted five in conference play en route to second-team all-league recognition. He became the first Red Raider to earn first- or second-team laurels since 2013.
Randolph has earned high marks as a recruiter and his other coaching stops include University of Memphis, and Arizona State University. he also coached defensive ends at the University of Alabama.
Randolph started his career as the linebackers coach at his alma mater, the University of Tennessee-Martin, in 1998. Randolph moved on to Valdosta State University (1999), Illinois State University (2000), the University of Toledo (2001), and West Virginia University (2002), the final three of which he oversaw special teams in addition to the defensive line.
An all-conference linebacker, Randolph earned his degree in electrical engineering technology in 1990. He played 10 seasons in the Canadian Football League with stops at Winnipeg (1988-95) and Montreal (1996-97).
This season Richmond’s defensive line was part of a defense that allowed an average of 166.8-yards rushing a game and 4.6-yards rushing per play. Opposing offenses threw for an average of 275-yards a game. The defense had 27 sacks for 155-yards lost. Of the sacks, 11 were made by defensive linemen with defensive end Anthony Goodlow with 3.0, defensive end Nathan Latu with 3.0, defensive tackle Collin Clay with 2.5, defensive tackle Xavier Ross with 1.0, and defensive Jaleel Johnson with 1.0, and defensive end DeSean Brown with 0.5.
The former Oklahoma State defensive end and linebacker from 2000-03 was a four-year letterman and in 2003 a first-team All-Big 12 selection. He is still on the single-season and the career top 10 lists for sacks. He was signed as a free agent by the Philadelphia Eagles and was there until 2007.
Richmond started his coaching career as a strength and conditioning coach and then moved into coaching defensive line. He was at his high school alma mater Douglass in Oklahoma City and then brke into the college ranks at Northeastern State and then Fairmont State in West Virginia before being hired by Gundy to join the OSU staff as co-defensive line coach in 2018.
Richmond coached the defensive line with current co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Joe Bob Clements through the 2021 season. Since then Richmond had coached the defensive ends solo with help from some graduate assistants.
Randolph now joins defensive coordinator Bryan Nardo, co-defensive coordinator and linebackers Joe Bob Clements, cornerbacks coach and pass game coordinator Tim Duffie, and safeties coach Dan Hammerschmidt making up the defensive staff for the Cowboys.